Tips for Staying Healthy(er) Over the Holidays

This is a phrase you probably aren’t used to seeing. Healthy eating during the holidays has become as accustomed as not licking the spoon of a freshly whisked bowl of brownie batter. It just doesn’t happen.

We all have the best intentions year-round with wanting to be healthy, to diet, to be skinny or in shape; but life happens. You have kids, money is tight, you get divorced, you’re just lazy… there are many time consuming and stressful factors that come into play that make you compromise on purchasing those CHEAP Ramen noodles or indulging in a donut with your offspring. But even then, some of us find the strength to stay strong, turn the other cheek to those lip-smackin’ tasty treats and aim for something more suitable. Then, Halloween hits.

I’ve decided, it’s all Fall’s fault. The summer / bikini season has passed. We are no longer required to squeeze our fat a**es into a bikini rather, we can now bundle up in bigger-than-life sweat shirts and clothing items that cover an extra 10lbs or so. Halloween comes and we ‘share’ candy with our kids because we think it’s cute that our kids even WANT to share in the first place (to refuse would be discouraging, right?). After Halloween comes Thanksgiving, and obviously to not indulge is to not be thankful. Then Christmas. The cookies, the pies, the turkeys, the hams… Christmas is the culmination of our Fall weight gain. But does it have it be? Is it too late to put down my cookie in shape of a Christmas Tree and still save myself from being 1 of 372 NEW members at my local gym on January 1st? I don’t think so.

Start today! Here are a couple ‘different’ ideas in preparing your body for that January 1st panic.

Volunteer. When giving of yourself, you will find that you become less selfish. Not only with your time, your money, but with yourself entirely. You no longer find the need to over-eat as you see that there are so many that don’t even get the chance to consume what you do over your dinner plate in their entire day.

Listen to your body. It’s easy to sit down to a Holiday meal and have your eyes become bigger than your stomach. Almost all of us are stuffed by the end of our first plate, but somehow we manage to get a second AND save room for dessert. Shortly after, we find ourselves crashing in front of the TV, pretending to watch football through our eyelids. Listen to your body when it’s full. You will be JUST as happy with one serving and one slice of pie as you ‘think’ you are with two servings and an extra helping of diabetes.

Snacks. No. I’m not going to tell you to always keep celery on hand. Gross. Keeping healthy snacks on hand is obviously a grand gesture, but that isn’t the only up-side to snacking. Snacking in between breakfast, lunch and dinner will keep you from over-eating during your three main meals. Additionally, it will keep you full; which will cut out those random Reese Cups being thrown in your mouth throughout the day. No more mindless snacking.

Water. Keep a refillable water bottle on hand at all times. You will mindlessly drink it throughout the day and come dangerously close to those eight-8oz glasses of water that you always hear you are supposed to intake, daily, but for some reason can’t seem to do. It will keep you hydrated and your stomach afloat. It will help flush out the toxins of all the crap you continue to put in your system and just overall, make you feel better.

By all means, enjoy your Holiday Season! I certainly will! Just remember, leave the cookies for Santa.